Russia+-+Taylor+Albrecht,+Kourtney+Kuhn+-+Block+3

= Taylor Albrecht and Kourtney Kuhn Block 4 = Russia

The Land Russia stretches across parts of Europe and Asia, covering about 6.6 million square miles making Russia the world’s largest country. Some mountains in Russia include the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Mount Elbrus. Ural Mountains create the border between East Asia and Western Europe. They are old and worn down with an average height of 2,000 feet, and are rich in iron ore and mineral fuel. The Caucasus lies between the Black Sea and the Caspien Sea. The highest place in Russia is found here. Mount Elbrus in located in the Caucasus Mountains and is an extinct volcano that reaches 18,510 feet, Russia’s highest point.

There biggest plateau in Russia called the Central Siberian Plateau. It is found in Central Russia with elevations from 1,600 to 2,300 feet. There are 2 major plains in Russia. One is the Northern European Plain which by the way is located in the western side of Russia. It is also known as the Russian Plain and has very fertile land. In this region there is many populated cities including Moscow. The other plain is the West Siberian Plain; this plain stretches nearly 1 million square miles and is the biggest area of flat land. It is located west of Siberia and east of the Ural Mountains. The most important river in Russia is the Volga River. It is located in western Russia and is the longest river. It connects Moscow to the Caspien Sea. There are 5 Siberian Rivers; Ob’, Irtysh, Yenisey, Lena, and Amur. Amur is the only river that flow east; it is also a warmer river. The other 4 rivers flow north and are colder. Lake Baikal is 400 miles long, 40 miles wide and 1 mile deep. It is located in southern Siberia.

Climate and Vegetation The high-Latitude regions cover most of Russia. They have long cold winters, Eastern Russia (Siberia) has the worst conditions. There are a few different climate and vegetations in this region. One of them being Tundra which is vast treeless plain that covers 10% of Russia. It covers everything north of the Arctic Circle. Another is subarctic that is the largest climate region. Some of the worlds coldest temperatures occur here and it is snow covered from 120-250 days a year. The taiga is a forest belt that covers about 2/5 of western Russia and goes over toward Siberia. It is about the same size as the United States and is the world’s largest coniferous forest.

The multitude region is populated and full of agriculture. Humid continental is found in the Northern European Plain. Here there is forest land and agricultural land. In this region of Russia they have lots of chernozem, which is rich black soil. Steppe is found between the Black and Caspian Sea. Here they have dry summers, and long, cold winters. The chernozem here is rich in organic matter.

Population and culture Russia has over 70 different ethnic groups. Nearly 80% of Russian’s population is ethnic Russian. There are 3 other common ethnic groups including The Slavs, Caucasian People, and Turkic Peoples. The Slavs are a linguistic group of Indo-European people that include Poles, Serbs, and Ukrainians. Caucasian People live in Caucasus region, and include the Chechens, Dagestanis, and Ingushetians. Turkic People include Tatars, Chuvash, Bashkirs, and Sakha, they are found in the Caucasus region and the middle Volga area. 75% of Russian populations live in southwest Russia. A major industrial city is Moscow, it is also the capital of Russia.

After the fall of the Soviet Union many Russians have rediscovered their faith, traditions, expressing themselves creatively, and their lifestyle in general. More than 100 languages are spoken in Russia today, but the official language is Russian. Some common religions are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. Most of the arts in Russia are inspired by religion. Most families live in small apartments, and sometimes with extended family too. For fun most people like to attend concerts, ballet, and theater events. A lot of people like to go to sporting events like, tennis, track and field, ice hockey, and gymnastics. Early History Russia’s history goes all the way back to the 600s, when Slav people settled along the Northern European Plain. In the 800’s Scandinavian warriors settled among the Slavs adapting their language and culture. Civil fights and foreign invaders caused a change in control for over 200 years. Many Slavs left their homeland to settle along the Moskva River, now known as Moscow. It is the territory called Muscovy, which was linked by rivers to major trade routes and surrounded by lands good for farming and fur trapping. Centuries later Muscovy’s prince Ivan III took control of many of the Slavs cities. Prince Ivan III’s grandson became Russia’s first crowned czar and crushed all who was against him. His rule enforced the people and many became serfs, virtually an enslave workforce under complete control. Peter I known as “the Great” expanding its land, built a strong military force, and developed trade with Europe. Gaining land along the Baltic Sea extended Russia’s trade. New capital St. Petersburg became an important port, giving Russia “a window on the West.” Empress Catherine the Great on the Black Sea obtained a warm-water port and brought many non-Russians under it rule. With technology increasing, those who followed traditional Russian ways faced poverty.

Revolution and Change The late 1800’s tried to make a stricter society. People like the serfs weren’t educated well, causing them to face poor conditions and meager wages. Non-Russian peoples also faced prejudice when the government presented the policy of Russification. It promoted people to speak Russian and follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Those refused were looked down upon, persecuted, and were blamed for Russia’s problems. This frustration led many Russian workers to turn to socialism, a belief for greater economic equality in society. After a revolution led by the working class rights were advocated public ownership of land and a classless with equal wealth. In 1917, the Bolsheviks, a revolutionary group led by Vladimir llyich Lenin, took advantage of the societies poor situation and the people who wished for change. The Bolsheiviks believed in communism, a society le dby workers, and promised people “peace, Land, and Bread!” not liking the current government, the people allowed them to take control. But a civil war broke out after a few years. As the government became more developed, the Soviet Union gradually grew and became more controlling. After World War II, the USSR controlled most of Eastern Europe. These regions controlled by the Soviet Union were called satellites. For decades, the Soviet Union and the United States fought in a struggle for world influence and power entitled the Cold War.

Economy  Changing Economics During the Soviet Union Russia was under communist rule and had a command economy. This is where the government makes decisions about economy. For example, the government owned banks, factories, farms, mines, and transportation systems. The government basically decided everything from prices to how much to produce. This made there be almost no unemployment. People were paid so little that sometimes they didn’t have enough money to buy consumer goods. Some people would buy from the black market, which is an illegal trade market that has expansive goods. At this time not much new technology was used.

When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in Russia he enforced changing from a command economy to a market economy. This means that businesses and such would be privately owned. He allowed people to start businesses and recommended foreign investment. People after him also helped with this process. During the 1990s Russia’s experienced ups and downs. In 1998 Russia’s currency lost nearly 71% of its value. As time went on the economy was weak but is now starting to get back up.

Economic Activities Russia’s transition from command economy to market economy has had a huge impact on their agriculture and their industries. Be for the switch to market the Union split agriculture in to different categories of farms. One was Kolkhozes which were farms where farmers shared the production and profits. The other category is Sovkhozes which were kind of like factories where people were paid with wages. When the market switch happened the country was trying to restrict state owned farms but many people did not listen. During this time the switch was happening really slowly and productions were falling. Then finally in 2002 a land code was put in place and it is now easier to buy and sell land. This is making the switch to market economy go quicker. When the Soviet Union fell, industries fell. Since then the industry is slowly starting to rise. Russia’s economy in industry and service is starting to expand. The most important industry is petroleum extraction. Russia is also a producer of oil, iron ore, magnesium, and nickel. Almost 1/5 of the world’s soft wood comes from Russia. Transportation & Communications Major highways connect major cities but many roads are in poor condition. For most transportation of goods Russia relies on railroads and waterways. To transport petroleum they use pipeline that run through Russian cities and Western Europe. Most Russians don’t have cars; they live in cities and use public transportation. Some common ways of public transportation are trains, buses, and subways. During the 1990s private car ownership nearly doubled but they are not used as much as public transportation. They public transportation systems and the equipment used on them need to be fixed and replaced.

During the Soviet Union time they used planes to transport travelers a lot. The government financially supported air travel but after the fall of the Union large airports split to small airlines. Because of higher costs of fuel and ticket prices many Russian airports have closed down. Also during the Soviet time the state controlled communication systems, After the fall of the Soviet Union communication was more free to hear, read, discover, new views, and new voices. Almost 25% of the population uses cell phones. There is a 16.5% use of Internet.



Trade & Interdependence Energy and fuels accounts for over 53% of Russia’s exports. In 1998 Russia became part of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Then in 2006 they became part of the World Trade Organization (WOT). Russia’s main export will be energy until other goods improve in quality and become more competitively priced. Russia benefits by being the former Soviet Union seat in the United Nations Security Council. Russia has helped settle disagreements in many countries. Some Countries and world organizations have helped out Russia financially with their industries. This makes their connections with organizations and countries stronger. Environmental use/concerns During the Soviet era they set off more than 600 nuclear explosions between the years 1949 and 1987. Some of these can be radioactive for thousands of years. Many radioactive and nuclear things have happened in Russia, killing thousands of people. People that were exposed to the radiation still suffer with multiple kinds of diseases. Having so much industrialization in Russia has polluted many lakes and rivers. Many things like runoff, fertilizer, and radioactive material have all contributed to this pollution and poor quality and water. Air and soil are also polluted with toxic waste from pesticides and fertilizers. Also transportation emission, industries, and burning coal have contributed to pollution. All this is causing acid rain which is ruining the forests in Russia.